Black Online

The Virtual Reality Pod’s glass lid opened. It revealed a tired-looking young man inside. It was Fang Raon.

"My muscles are sore..."

Fang Raon rubbed his arms and climbed out of the pod.

After his painful loss in the hands of Leon, he played little longer Ranked to maintain his position in the top 100.

He mostly fought those who weren’t in the top 100, so his rank didn’t have big changes, but he managed to rise to 93rd position.

’I don’t think I will play Ranked tomorrow. I need to continue the tower climbing. Ranked is definitely fun, though.’

He thought.

And then, as soon as he walked out of the bedroom, he noticed that there were two girls sitting over at the table.

"Look who came."

Chaewon said with a smile.

In that moment, Della turned her head around with a smile, and she then stood up and jumped into Raon’s arms.

"You’ve already arrived?"

Fang Raon said with a surprised look.

"I took an earlier flight since I couldn’t wait any longer."

Della said and took a quick whiff of him, as it was the first time she had met him in the real world, and thought that he smelled differently.

Very pleasant smell.

Fang Raon hugged her back and then noticed that she only took a little bag with her and nothing else.

"This is all your stuff?"

He asked.

"Yeah. I took only the most valuable things that I own. I am planning to purchase a new Virtual Reality Pod over here."

Della said.

"Tell us about your day."

Chaewon leaned her cheek against her hand and, with a smile, asked, and then Della and Raon sat down on the table.

Raon began talking about his stream and what happened today.

"You encountered Leon? That’s very unlucky. I hope you didn’t do anything foolish because he is the type of man that holds grudges!"

Della said with a pout.

She didn’t know why, but she had a feeling that Raon did something that might come bite him in the ass.

"Nah... I didn’t do anything..."

Fang Raon’s voice trailed at the end, and that made the two girls squint their eyes at him suspiciously.

The two girls then started talking with each other. Girls’ stuff. Raon took his leave and pulled his phone from his pocket.

He had received an email.

’They answered.’

Fang Raon’s eyes narrowed.

He had to create an excuse to the two girls about why he was leaving for a couple of days, and since this was something that couldn’t wait, he had to leave quick.

Fang Raon looked at the email, and there were coordinates for the location where the Reality First was hiding.

’It’s in Smog Region, luckily. In Zodiac City. I can take the train there and be there in a couple of hours easily.’

He thought.

He pocketed the phone, looked over at the table, and then approached the two girls who were chatting with each other.

"Girls, there is somewhere I need to be tomorrow. It’ll probably be just five hours or so, so I should be back by afternoon."

Fang Raon said.

"Is it something serious?"

Della asked.

It also made Chaewon raise an eyebrow, as she wondered where in the world he needed to go.

"It’s Fang Family business."

Fang Raon said.

It made the two girls gasp in realization, as they still kept forgetting that he was now the head of that family.

It made sense that there were occasionally times where he had to go in person to deal with some problems.

"It’s not a big issue, but I better go there."

Fang Raon said.

"Yeah, I understand. I’ll show Della around the Megaworld tomorrow and get a virtual reality pod for her."

Chaewon said.

"Mm."

Fang Raon nodded, and then two girls looked at each other and whispered with each other about something.

It made Della blush, and then, the two girls stood up and grabbed Raon by his hand and started pulling him towards the bedroom.

"Why don’t we show her the bedroom, Raon?"

Chaewon said with a mischievous smile.

’I am going to die...’

Fang Raon wryly smiled, as his muscles were already sore, and it was going to get even worse tonight.

They entered the bedroom, and the door banged shut.

...

A passenger train chugged down the tracks. It was blowing smoke towards the sky. The whistle blew its melancholic tune.

The train chugged past harsh-looking terrain. Dead-looking trees, grayish grass, and a sky that threatened to unleash a storm.

’Classic Smog Region.’

Fang Raon sat by the window in one of the train booths, leaning his cheek against his fist and just staring outside.

It was the first time that he was properly seeing the outside of the Smog Region that wasn’t from the window of the flying car.

Even when he was blind, he heard about the crude situation with Smog Region’s vegetation and landscape.

And now with his own eyes, he could understand the worries, as it was indeed not a very pretty sight.

’This is why Black Online is so addictive and, honestly, better. It’s not ugly like the real world. It’s beautiful.’

He then pulled out his phone and, out of curiosity, just checked his statistics of DeadPixel, and it was getting better.

His follower count was at 40, and he had four total subscribers. It was newbie numbers compared to the top streamers, but it was progress that he was proud of.

’My Lagless account has been quite dead. I really need to make a video. But what kind? My first video was a war documentary.

’I need to think of something.’

Fang Raon thought.

In that moment, he looked out of the booth and saw some train passengers walking out of the special train carriage.

’Special train carriage offers its passengers a VR experience. There is Virtual Reality Pods inside, which they can use to go into Black Online during long train trips.

’Special train carriage pass is expensive, very much so, but for some, it’s really worth it since the train ride is usually very boring.

’I didn’t do it because I can’t really afford it, and it’d be a waste of time mostly, and also, I don’t want to use any other Virtual Reality Pod than my own.’

Fang Raon thought.

He was also planning to use some of his Fang Family connections to find more about his special Virtual Reality Pod.

There must be a reason why it was special, and he had been wondering whether it was the only special Virtual Reality Pod in the world.

He highly doubt it.

In that moment, from the windows, the passengers were able to see the Zodiac City in the distance.

A city of factories, heavy box-looking buildings, and a never-ending smog that covered the sky above.

Despite it being morning, it felt like nighttime due to the thick layer of pollution in the air.

Fang Raon pulled out his phone, put the coordinates on his maps app, and saw that the Reality First’s hideout was quite literally at the heart of Zodiac City.

’I might make quite a commotion with my plan. Before I head over there, I must go fetch a mask and cloak.’

He thought.

The train kept chugging down on the tracks, and then ten minutes later, it finally arrived at the station.

Its wheels screeched as it came to a halt, and most of the passengers took their stuff from overhead compartments and began to exit the train.

In that moment, Fang Raon stepped out of the train with his hands inside his pockets, and after taking a tiniest sniff of the air, he felt sick.

’This is not a healthy place to live at.’

"You are him, right?"

In that moment, from the crowd, a man approached him—he looked sickly—like he’d been staying inside of a house for too long.

"And you’re?"

Fang Raon asked.

In that moment, the man showed his t-shirt. It was a Reality First shirt. A risky shirt to wear anywhere.

Reality First was considered a criminal organization.

"I thought I was supposed to meet your peers at the place you stay at."

Fang Raon said.

"...Change of plans. By the way, I don’t see you carrying any bags. Did you not bring what we asked of you?"

Jack asked with a cold look.

"You think I can carry all those game cards by myself? If I try stuffing them all inside my bag, they might break.

"Besides, the bags are always searched in trains by the Police Force. You think I want to expose myself to such danger?"

Fang Raon asked.

"...I suppose that makes sense. Where are they then?"

Jack asked.

"An associate of mine is delivering them this evening. If the talks go successfully, you’ll be getting them."

Fang Raon said.

"Are they actually working? Have you tried?"

Jack asked.

"Tried and works perfectly. Anyway, can we go talk elsewhere? I don’t prefer doing my business in the middle of a crowded area."

Fang Raon said.

Jack looked around. There was a large crowd walking about in the train station. It definitely wasn’t the best place to do business at.

"...Follow me."

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!